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Space Apps Sarawak 2021Magellanic Clouds Group

Space apps Challenge :

Have seeds will travel?

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Fundamental that plants needed to grow:

Water

    • to keep the sap of plant cells always fresh
    • one of the main components to produce photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

    • plants need to breath using this gas
    • one of the main components to produce photosynthesis

Sunlight ( glows magenta pink LED)

    • to absorb light energy by plants and converting it into chemical energy
    • one of the main components to produce photosynthesis

Gravity

    • plants can send their roots downwards to absorb water and nutrients
    • shoots plants grow shooting upwards towards light

Fertilizer

    • plant will grow much more efficient
    • producing more nutrients for the plants

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The Photosynthesis Process

Sunlight

Carbon dioxide

Water

Oxygen and Glucose

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Since in space is microgravity and weightless, plants can

grow in any direction depending on the water reservoir and the LED light.

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Since the start of the space program , most pre-packaged food has been used to meet astronaut food requirements and it continues to serve as the foundation of the food system, mostly on early exploration missions.

However, taking a trip to Mars will take up to three years and during that time, Vitamins (like Vitamin B1,C and K) and the key nutrients are available in pre-packaged foods.

These pre-packaged foods will eventually lose efficacy and may also suffer a decline in palatability and acceptability.

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HOW TO GROW

PLANT IN SPACE?

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NASA has invented Pillow Plant

What is pillow plant?

Made from what?

How long does it take to make?

How does it work?

What is the size, and much does it weight?

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Made from what?�> made from Teflon Coated Kevlar (TCK)�Reason: �> not toxic to plants and it keeps light out of the root zone�> It is also durable, waterproof, and not flammable�How long does it take?�> takes about 5.5 to 6 hours��What is the size, and much does it weight?�> plant pillow mass for Veggie averages 200 g�> size is 13 cm x 14.5 cm x 4 cm but they are soft so size can vary�> they hold 250 cc of substrate�

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What is pillow plant?�> a shell that hold particulate and a seed the seed’s root system will grow in the particulate  ��> a wick on the bottom of the pillow which rests on top of the root mat��> the root mat is a water reservoir with its own wick on the top��> the wicks allow moisture to transfer between the two

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HOW DOES

IT WORKS?

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This is the pillow plant:

The Veggie chamber helps solve the problems of a weightless environment by using ‘plant pillows’, sounds comfy right?

These pillows are bags filled with material for growing plants in space. 

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 Wicks:

Wicks are implanted into the bags and are used to draw water from inside the pillow to the plant.

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These wicks also provide a place to glue the seeds.

It’s important to orient the seeds so roots will grow ‘down’, and shoots that emerge will push out of the bag towards the light.

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LED Lights:

LED lights are used for photosynthesis and give the shoots a sense of direction, so they keep growing upward. The walls of the Veggie chamber can expand to make room for the plant as it grows.

The purple/pinkish hue surrounding the plants in Veggie is the result of a combination of the red and blue lights, which is what the plants need to grow. Green LEDS were added so the plants look like edible food rather than weird purple plants.

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Types of edible plants can be grown in space using pillow plant :

    • red romaine lettuce
    • ‘Tokyo Bekana’ Chinese cabbage
    • ‘Extra Dwarf’ pak choi
    • ‘Wasabi’ mustard
    • ‘Dragoon’ lettuce
    • ‘Waldmann’s Green’ lettuce
    • Mizuna mustard

Have Seeds Will Travel

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All Veggie Crop Experiments for Human Consumption

VEG-01 B: ‘Outredgeous’ red romaine lettuce – July 8, 2015 - Aug. 10, 2015.

VEG-03 A: ‘Outredgeous’ red romaine lettuce using cut and-come-again repetitive harvest technique – Oct. 25, 2016 – Dec. 28, 2016.

VEG-03 B: ‘Tokyo Bekana’ Chinese cabbage – Jan. 20, 2017 - Feb. 17, 2017.

VEG-03 C: ‘Tokyo Bekana’ Chinese cabbage using cut and-come-again repetitive harvest technique – April 3, 2017 - May 31, 2017.

VEG-03 D: Mizuna mustard, ‘Outredgeous’ red romaine lettuce and ‘Waldmann’s Green’ lettuce using cut-and-comeagain repetitive harvest technique – Sept. 26, 2017 - Nov. 23, 2017 (harvested and eaten on Thanksgiving).

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VEG-03 E: Mizuna mustard, ‘Outredgeous’ red romaine lettuce and ‘Waldmann’s Green’ lettuce using cut-and-come-again repetitive harvest technique grown concurrent with Veg-03 F – Feb. 6, 2018 - April 6, 2018.

VEG-03 F: Mizuna mustard, ‘Outredgeous’ red romaine lettuce and ‘Waldmann’s Green’ lettuce using cut-and-come-again repetitive harvest technique grown concurrent with Veg-03 E – Feb. 9, 2018 - April 9, 2018.

VEG-03 G: ‘Red Russian’ kale and ‘Dragoon’ lettuce – Oct. 25, 2018 - Nov. 28, 2018.

VEG-03 H: ‘Wasabi’ mustard and ‘Extra Dwarf’ pak choi – March 9, 2019 - April 6, 2019.

VEG-04 A: Mizuna mustard using Red-Rich and Blue-Rich light recipes – June 4, 2019 - July 9, 2019.

VEG-04 B: Mizuna mustard grown using Red-Rich and Blue-Rich light recipes and cut-and-come-again repetitive harvest technique – Oct. 1, 2019 – Nov. 28, 2019.

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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

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  • plant pillow helps to grow plant in zero gravity condition
  • to produce vegetables and fruits for the crew to maintain their health during a long journey
  • In addition to the nutrition benefits of growing vegetables in space, the psychological benefits are also significant
  • having living plants can help with stress and increase the crews’ enjoyment
  • it provides the sights, smells and tastes of Earth.

Conclusion

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OBJECTIVES

Our challenge is to :

  • design a supplemental crop production system that supports a crew on a long-duration exploration mission to Mars and back to Earth, or on a mission to an early surface habitat on the Moon or Mars

  • take into consideration whether the system could be stowable when not in use and should specify the size of the crew

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Problem Statement :

How to grow more plants in a smaller space?

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OUR SOLUTION:

Deployable Space

Green House (DSGH)

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The inspiration came up as we used a simple origami fan and airplane boarding tunnel as a reference for the solution. The solution, being used as an extension connected or simply put, installed from the food storage’s entrance and it’ll be extended as more food is being consumed as days/months/years pass by.

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The extension serves as an extended room for the plantation to be executed.

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The more room there is for more ‘pillows’ to be set up, the more food supply can grow.

The shelf will soon be installed in the provided space by the astronauts.

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It can be installed and restored when it is necessary according to the astronaut’s needs.

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Empty shelf will be installed or can be restored by astronauts.

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Pillow plants will be placed in the shelves.

The plants will grow horizontally depending on the position of the seeds and the LED lights.

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Conclusion

  • helps to produce more food products efficiently

  • Use less space to place more pillow plants

  • astronauts can harvest it easily by just plucking it from the side

  • easy to use, install shelves and it is stowable when not in use

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THANK YOU

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik

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References

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